Three-letter words starting with R
49 three-letter words begin with the letter R. The complete list is below in alphabetical order, grouped by second letter so you can scan straight to the ones that fit your puzzle.
Most common three-letter words starting with R
Ranked by how often they appear in written English.
- red
- run
- ray
- row
- rom
- raw
- ram
- ref
- res
- rob
- ran
- reg
- rep
- rod
- rev
- rap
- rat
- rec
- rid
- rip
- rim
- rug
- rem
- rex
Highest-scoring three-letter words starting with R
Standard Scrabble tile values, before any board multipliers.
- raj 10
- rax 10
- rex 10
- rah 6
- raw 6
- ray 6
- ref 6
- rev 6
- rho 6
- rif 6
- row 6
- rya 6
- rye 6
- ram 5
- rap 5
- reb 5
- rec 5
- rem 5
- rep 5
- rib 5
- rim 5
- rip 5
- rob 5
- roc 5
All 49 three-letter words starting with R
RA 12
- rad
- rag
- rah
- raj
- ram
- ran
- rap
- ras
- rat
- raw
- rax
- ray
RE 13
- reb
- rec
- red
- ree
- ref
- reg
- rei
- rem
- rep
- res
- ret
- rev
- rex
RH 1
- rho
RI 8
- ria
- rib
- rid
- rif
- rig
- rim
- rin
- rip
RO 7
- rob
- roc
- rod
- roe
- rom
- rot
- row
RU 6
- rub
- rue
- rug
- rum
- run
- rut
RY 2
- rya
- rye
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Common questions
How many three-letter words start with R?
There are 49 three-letter words beginning with R, all listed on this page in alphabetical order.
What are the most common three-letter words starting with R?
Ranked by how often they appear in written English, the most common are: red, run, ray, row, rom, raw, ram, ref. The full "most common" list is near the top of this page.
What is the highest-scoring three-letter word starting with R in Scrabble?
raj scores 10 points on plain tiles, before any double- or triple-word squares. Premium squares and the 50-point bingo bonus can change the ranking completely.
Are proper nouns and abbreviations included?
No. The list only contains words from the ENABLE lexicon, which excludes proper nouns, abbreviations and hyphenated forms — the same rule tournament Scrabble and most word games follow. Read more on the methodology page.
Counted from a 172,749-word public-domain lexicon, last reviewed 2026-08-01. How this list was built.